WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios says he is unsure if Ryan Garcia deserves a title shot against him when he returns from his suspension in 2025.
Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) says that because Ryan tested positive for a banned PED, he’s not sure he’ll want to get involved with him. He feels Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) needs to bounce back and get a few fights under his belt before considering defending his WBC 147-pound title against him.
Interestingly, Barrios will make a title defense of his WBC belt against Abel Ramos (28-6-2, 22 KOs), a fighter with a 1-2 record in his last three fights, when they meet on November 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
If Ryan doesn’t deserve a title shot, why is Ramos being given a chance to challenge Barrios for his WBC belt? Ramos has lost two of his last three fights against Cody Crowley and Luke Santamaria. Where are the standards for that fight? Maybe Ryan needs to start losing like Ramos is to get a title shot against Barrios.
“Does he really deserve it? If he comes back. Yes, it will be good money,” Mario Barrios told the media when asked if he would welcome defending his WBC welterweight title against Ryan Garcia next year when he returns from his suspension.
Barrios was recently elevated to full WBC champion outside the ring. He didn’t actually win his welterweight title. He won the WBC interim belt against Yordenis Ugas on September 30 last year and was later elevated to full champion. It’s not the ideal way to become a champion, but Barrios won’t turn it down.
“Hopefully he comes back and gets on his s***, and he gets some of the fights he wants,” Barrios said of Ryan Garcia. “It’s strange. The whole thing with Haney and him. He who shows up dirty. Regardless, as a fighter I have my own views on it. It’s fucked up.”
Barrios may not be thinking things through. The money he would get to fight Ryan Garcia would be far more than he would receive to defend against Abel Ramos or whoever PBC digs up for him after that fight in 2025.
If Barrios is going to turn Ryan down, he might regret it later because he’s not a good enough fighter to hold onto his WBC title for any length of time without being protected by his management. We already saw ring rust Keith Thurman beat Barrios by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision after a two-and-a-half-year layoff on February 5, 2022. Before that, Barrios was knocked out in the 11th round by Gervonta Davis on June 26, 2021.
Barrios has won his last three fights since then, beating traveling companion Jovanie Santiago, Yordenis Ugas and Fabian Maidana. Ugas was coming off a knockout loss to Errol Spence in a fight in which he suffered an eye injury. It wasn’t the fresh Ugas who lost a questionable 12-round split decision to Shawn Porter on March 9, 2019.
“Like I said. If he comes back, cleans up and continues to be successful, yes, I would welcome a fight with him,” Barrios said. “As a fighter, we put our lives on the line every time we walk in there. I think it shows more of your character than whatever you’re getting dirty for.”
Chances are Barrios won’t be the WBC champion much longer. So, if his promoters think things through clearly, they should give Ryan Garcia or Devin Haney a title shot in 2025 if one of those popular fighters shows interest. Even Regis Prograis would be an upgrade for Barrios after Ramos and the guys he’s faced since his loss to Thurman in 2022.
“I understand that. I think it’s a little bit extra, but I get it,” Barrios said of his thoughts on Haney suing Ryan. “Our lives are at stake. They go about it in an interesting way. I don’t know. My team handles it all. They bring the fights to me. We just go for the way that makes more sense.
“I think Ryan Garcia is a damn good fighter. He has a lot of qualities about him that are really great in the ring. What has happened in the last year or two. Yeah, I know I won’t,” Barrios said when asked if he didn’t want to get involved in Ryan’s situation.
